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Poland stone industry trends 2018

1. In 2018 the Polish economy is expected to grow at reasonably fast pace with several commercial projects projected and expected to be in the construction stage.

2. The purchasing power of the Polish consumer has been increasing year after year ever since it entered the European Union and it now seems to have reached a level where goods which were beyond the reach of most people are now becoming accessible for a large part of the population. Given the optimistic state of the Polish consumer, more spending on home decoration is expected in 2018.

3. The Polish consumer increasingly looks for new materials, and this phenomenon is especially true in the business cities like Warsaw, Poznan, Gdansk and Cracovia.

4. Within the stone industry there are literally hundreds, perhaps as much as 2000 (out of total of around 7000 stonemasons), single wire and also many multi-wire machines that have been installed in recent years. These wire machines allow for personalised production and provide greater flexibility to the stonemasons, that is why the trend of processing blocks has increased instead of buying more slabs as would have normally be expected with rising cost of labour. Because of the large number of modern such machines installed, import of blocks is expected to increase further in 2018.

5. The import of blocks from Scandinavia and Africa are that have shown the biggest increase. This trend should continue during 2018.

6. Brazilian slabs have also been selling more and more in Poland, though most of them are entering the country via Italy.

7. Demand for artificial stone has been increasing during last 2-3 years, especially in the kitchen countertop segment and also now in decoration. This trend will likely continue in 2018, but as artificial stone is still relatively high priced, it will probably remain a niche product.

8. For now imports of granite from India have shown some decline compared to previous years.

9. There is now a serious shortage of qualified labour in Poland. Many stonemasons are employing workers from Ukraine.

10. While the size of the funerary industry remains stable in this Catholic country, apart from cheap imports from China and Vietnam, there is now also a new and growing market in the funerary segment for highly elaborate and premium stones made monuments.